Despite the trade of blacksmith being more or less confined to history, a North Otago town wants at least one practitioner to work in Duntroon, to help boost local tourism.
The Nicol's Blacksmith Historic Trust is about to start advertising for a blacksmith to work in its building on Duntroon's main street.
Trustee Mike Gray said the applicant would have to be a storyteller who could talk to tourists as they came through.
However, the blacksmith would need to do other work, as it was not expected the tourist side of the business would generate enough income for a living.
Blacksmiths who remained in work around the country specialised in certain types of machinery, architecture and even spring production, so it was possible the person could do some of that kind of work, as well.
Mr Gray expected visitor numbers to go up when Nicol's had a blacksmith operating.
The trust was "not below poaching a blacksmith'' but, if it was unable to find one, it could look at finding people who were interested and teach them some basic blacksmithing skills and have them work the tourist business on a monthly rotational schedule.
The building was purchased by four farmers in the mid-1970s.
The Nicol's Blacksmith Shop Trust was formed in 2006. One of the original buyers is now its chairman, John Hore.
Mr Hore said locals at the time could not believe that anybody would buy the site, but it did have sentimental value for the new owners, who all spent part of their childhoods there.
The building was a category one heritage building, he said.
Mr Gray said a blacksmith first operated in Duntroon from about the late 1890s.
Later, a wheelwright arrived, followed by a mechanic and in the late 1960s, Duntroon's last blacksmith, Nicol Muirden, shut up shop.
